It has been a surreal 24 hours for the world of sports.
The concerns surrounding the Coronavirus started to grow even more on Wednesday before it reached it’s climax on Wednesday night when the NBA announced the league would be suspending play indefinitely due to the fear of spreading the virus.
So what’s that mean for the Pacers?
Scott Agness, who covers the Pacers for The Athletic, explained more on Thursday morning’s Fan Morning Show.
“They’re trying to figure out everything. They have no answers just yet, but I think everything was on the table. Do you play just in front of no fans like the Warriors were supposed to do? Do you cancel everything? Do you suspend everything?” Agness told Big Joe and Kevin Bowen.
No games will be played for the foreseeable future. The league is supposed to be holding a conference call at 3:30 on Thursday afternoon to give more information.
Will Pacers players be able to leave the city? Will they be encouraged to stay in town?
“Right now they certainly want you to stay because they’re trying to figure out who has all been contaminated, who has all been around whom, right Because for instance Shams Charania reporting the Raptors are being self-quarantined here. The NBA is such a small world, right? They share team planes, they share locker rooms.”
“The latter part they’re still trying to figure out. I’m sure a couple individuals will probably want to just to prevent any fears and such. It wouldn’t surprise if it becomes something where if you play any of the teams that are in this discussion then it is required. But to this point I think they’re all going off of if you don’t have the symptoms you don’t need to get tested. They’re still trying to figure out when do you practice? Do you take time off for two weeks here? But most likely what I’m expecting is for them to say ‘hey we’re on conference calls with the NBA all day. We’re trying to figure it out. Stay where you are in terms of your home for a couple of days. Maybe we’ll have practice. Most likely you’ll want to come in and use the weight room at our facilities, but right now just stay home and stay out of harms way.”
You get the picture.
Rudy Gobert gets diagnosed with COVID-19 (Coronavirus), he’s been around numerous players, coaches, refs, who have now traveled to different arenas, so on and so forth.
One thing is clear no matter what comes next – don’t expect to be watching Pacers basketball any time soon.
